Saturday night was a strange party. The Richmond Convention Center played host to the Democratic Party of Virginia and some 4,000 supporters. It was a Halloween party of sorts, there was enough fur in the building to make Cruella DeVil jealous. But not only were the well to do of Richmond there, but so were the youngsters… high schoolers involved in Student Government, college students participating in Young Democrats, and many more. There was something electric in the air, and it came from one source - Sen. Barack Obama. And as supporters of the presidential hopeful, we were there too. Forty of us showed our enthusiasm by handing out information, signing up future volunteers, selling t-shirts, buttons, and signs, as well as taking donations. There were other candidates represented at the convention as well. Clinton and Edwards had booths, but it was Obama’s day and it was obvious by the crowds swarming his tables.
Governor Tim Kaine gave a wonderful speech (without notes) endorsing Sen. Obama, as did former Governor Mark Warner and current Va Sen. Jim Webb. Giving the keynote address, Mr. Obama touched on the changing political landscape of Virginia, as well as the importance of Virginia politics, and his vision for a unified and hopeful America, among various other topics. The speech ran about 30 minutes, and though we’d been on our feet working for nine hours, we volunteers stood for the whole thing. It was the most incredible experience to hear a the Senator speak… he has a captivating presence. I hope you all get the chance to see him in person.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out his web site and if you’re so inclined sign up to be part of the volunteer team, cleverly named my.barackobama.com. The site is a great way to network with local Obama supporters.
For those of you looking to get to know more about Sen. Obama, University of Richmond Political Science Professor Jimmy Kandeh has already organized a meeting at UR. You can sign up here.
| When: | Mar 25, 2007 |
| Where: | Brown-Alley Room, WSTN Bldg, University of Richmond Westhampton Way Richmond, VA University of Richmond, 23173 |
-Happy campaign trails-
February 21, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I am encouraged to hear the response that Senator Obama is creating. A fresh approach to world poltics is what we need. We have had too much self-centered, narrow, non-visionary ideas from the major parties for too long. Let’s all hope that more people like Senator Obama step forward and make a differnce.